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As beautiful as those that can be found in the Pyrenees. On the margins of the road on the outskirts of Altet, in Urgell, I have portrayed these photographs of Silene vulgaris, known as colitx, colleja or stew, a herbaceous and perennial plant.
It usually measures between 20 and 60 cm, although it can reach 100. The flowers, 1.5 to 2.5 cm wide, are very characteristic for their swollen calyx, which protects the corolla made up of five white petals. Flowering takes place between March and October
Silene, the Latin name of the genus, comes from the word "Silenus", a character in Greek mythology who is always represented with a fat belly and refers to the swollen calyx of flowers.
The images show that we must pay attention to the flowers on the edges of the roads, whose beauty can surprise us. I have photographed others for this report in La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos.
We can see, for example, Lepidium draba, a species of the cruciferous family. It is common in crops, wastelands and in ditches. The infusion prepared with its leaves is diuretic. And the seeds have been used as a substitute for pepper.
In Catalan it has several names: bábol, pápola, pelitre, guixes, muixos, chaplains or friars.
Anacyclus clavatus, known in Catalan as panigroc or panicor, is a flowering plant from the asteracia family native to the Mediterranean. It is also known as boligs, margarida borda, margarita, panicors, bolits, bullits, camamil·la loca, manzanilla, panicrost and panigrog.
It is common on the edges of roads in the Mediterranean area, especially in regions with little rainfall, such as the Urgell region. And it is rarely seen in the sub-Mediterranean mountains.
